Hiking in Sunndal: Hoåslia

Hiking Hoåslia is the startingpoint for getting to several summits in Trollheimen. Hoåsnebba, Trolla and Furunebba amongst others. To get up Hoåslia you can either take the path from Hoås which is furthest east of the two alternatives. This path goes close to the cliff underneath Hoåsnebba and is therefore more exposed of rockfall. Even though rockfall is more common during spring and early summer there was a rockfall when I was there in July. I would therefore recommend the path from Løykja instead. Hiking here you should also be aware of vipers crawling about...
Done with the warnings! This hike gives a great view of Sunndalen long before you are at the top. It also gets your heart pumping as the hill is very steep. The path can be difficult to follow at times but once you have a good look around it is easy to figure out where the path must go. But remember to look back to where you came from from time to time so it will be easy to find your way down. When you see the mailbox you're at the top of Hoåslia. The hike's total ascent is approximately 800 meters and takes you to about 950 masl in almost no time:)


Hoåslia



Trolla seen from Hoåslia



I hiked a bit further and got an even better view of Sunndalen:)

Sunndalsfjella on the other side of the valley



The view up the valley

A viper in my way!

Hiking in Sunndal: Vollasætra

Driving towards Oppdal from Sunndalsøra and just before you start the ascent to get to Oppdal(Gråura) there are several nice pastures up in the mountains. One of them is Vollasætra which you can hike to from Vollan farm. There is a small spot to park your car, just remember cash to pay for it. Then you head up the tractor road and follow the signs leading to Vollasætra. It goes upwards all the way so there is no place to relax unless you stop for a break. Some parts of the path vegetation is taking over, but look for the signs and there will be no problem finding the right way. The pasture in itself is beautiful, but the view could be better. Therefore I decided to follow the path and head for the nearest top to get a better view. All in all a nice and easy hike without any difficulties, but remember to check for ixodidaes!

Notice the sign to get to the path from the tractor road

Not much of a view from Vollasætra

Vollasætra

The pasture a bit further up

At the top I just wanted to head further and go for long hike in Trollheimen

The beauty of living between mountains

Many thought I was crazy moving to a small place like Sunndalsøra: What was I going to do there and why would I want to live so far away from everything?

One of the privileges of living in a rural area is the short amount of time spent between work and home and the short amount of time needed to get to any outdoors activity. For me it takes more or less 10 minutes of cycling to get to work, depending on the direction and strength of the wind. Some hikes starts within walking distance from home, and within a 20 minutes drive I can just pick and choose hiking options. This makes it possible and easy to go hiking after work, even when the days get shorter. An other great thing about this place is that many other people like to do outdoors activities. So of course we have a facebook group for those of us who like getting on top of summits both winter and summer=) It is very easy to find someone who wants to join a trip! And hiking with others is the best way to learn shortcuts and to learn more about the mountains:)

One of the hikes I've done after work was to Salsnebba. This was a nice hike that started in a neighbouring valley, Øksendalen. On the way to the top you pass a mailbox at Prestgaardssætra, where many people choose to turn and head back down. The rest of the hike is without any path, but is in a lovely terrain and without difficulties. From the summit at 1020 masl there is a nice view in all directions. Unfortunately there was a change in weather while we did the hike, from sun to rain and then all of a sudden snow at the top. So we did not get to see much:(  The hike took approximately 2 hours to the top and is definitely manageable for more people than the once who had been there so far this year. It's sad that people that have this opportunity at their front door does not take advantage of it. I'm glad I did because it was a lovely afternoon and the evening had just begun by the time I was home=) love it!

At the summit, a bit chilly...

Lovely on the way up, plenty of places to refill the water bottle

Salsnebba to the left

A taste of the view we did not get at the summit

Børsetkjerringa, just above 1000masl

From Ålvundeie, a small place 15 minutes away by car, there are plenty of hiking opportunities that are not too steep. One of them is Børsetkjerringa with several paths leading to the top. When I did the hike this September I took the steep option on the way up. It starts at Børsetlauvet where it is easy to follow the much used path to the two mailboxes you pass on the way up. So, if you like to get your name in as many books as possible, this is a hike for you=) It's not a very long hike, but as usual you get a nice view in all directions at the top. The view was amazing this time, as the summits had snow on them and the colours of autumn had started to come. To make the hike a bit longer it is possible to make a lap out of it by taking a different way down. This path leads you past two lakes where I have heard that at least one of them is good for fishing. Taking this path you end up in the alpine skiing area, but before you get there you have to cross some mires so wear good hiking boots if you don't want to get wet.

The view towards Oppdøl and Sunndalsfjorden

The most important book is the one at the top:)

A bit slippery on the way down

What a nice place to have a cabin!

Kongelhjellan, one of the most popular hikes in Sunndal

A short drive up the valley, the start of a beautiful short hike to Kongelhjellan starts. The beginning of the hike is marked with a sign and shortly after there is a place to park the car. The hike follows a broad path that is nice to walk on, although it can be a bit slippery when it is wet. Along the path you can find different kinds of berries in the right season: blueberries, raspberries and wild strawberries=)

The hike takes less than an hour to the top, where you of course find a book to sign your name in. If you continue a bit further you come to a nice viewpoint. A lovely place to have lunch and maybe some dessert if you have picked some berries:)

A nice view down the valley

The path continues to the viewpoint

The start of the hike is easy to find:)

Halsen in Øksendalen

In the valley west of Sunndal, Øksendal, this is a popular afternoon hike. The path starts just above the small craft harbour.  If you walk past some old car wrecks you have found the right path. The hike takes approximately 20 minutes to the postbox with a book to sign ones name in. Any hike in and around Sunndal usually gives a great view even though it is not long. This is because almost all hikes are steep! Therefore I was quite disappointed at the end of the hike when we did not get any view of the fjord at all. It is possible to continue on several paths from the postbox, but they are all overgrown and narrow and doesn't provide a better view. The positive thing about the hike is that it follows a very soft path, no hard rocks. Also abnormal  for this area.

One of the car wrecks, impossible to miss...

Some view of Øksendalen on the way back:)

It is important to sign ones name in the book. That way people can see you've been there=)

Hiking the triangle in Trollheimen

This hiking trip is one of the most popular ones nearby. Information about the trip can be found here. In spite of the long lasting winter in the mountains my friend Marte and I took the trip early in July. We started at Gjevilvasshytta and were told that up to 60% of the trail were covered in snow towards Trollheimshytta and a bit less on the other stages. We decided to start towards Trollheimshytta, we followed the signs from Gjevilvasshytta and thought we were on the right track. I thought it was a bit funny that we never turned left and after a while we met some people saying we were on the track to Jøldalshytta, not Trollheimshytta. Haha! Lessons learned: do not follow signs, read the map instead. Check if the sign is telling the winter or summer route.

So there was a change of plans, and we spent the first night at Jøldalshytta. What a luxury! It was like being at an all inclusive hotel. After taking a shower and hanging up the clothes in the drying room, we got a three course dinner followed by coffee and cake. It is funny how much better food tastes after a day of hiking=) By 9 pm we were ready to hit the sack! The area around the hut was very nice, but sadly there were too many mozzies around to be outdoors. Even though I was tired when we got close to the hut, the mozzies were so aggressive that I had to find the energy to run the last part.

All routes are marked with red signs. But a map is handy when the signs are covered in snow.

A lot of reindeer between Gjevilvasshytta and Jøldalshytta

Food has never been better:)

A mountain pasture near the hut

Jøldalshytta

Ready for stage number two

On the second stage we took the track across Geithøtta. The more demanding route across Trollhetta had not been taken by anyone else this year due to the amount of snow that still was lying in the mountains. The hiking was fine, but we had to be careful several places where the snow was covering streams. But this was nothing compared to the amount of snow we had to cross the following day. But this snow was thicker and not to many streams to cross, although there was one river that gave us some difficulties. This was the only day I had to wear hiking boots, I am not sure if you have to wear it all if the tracks were free of snow.

Road block. Why do sheep prefer the road and paths?

At the top of Geithøtta=)

Trollheimshytta. The hut you do not see until it's suddenly right in front of you

Ready for the last and final stage:)

The information was correct, plenty of snow!

Where is the snow thick enough for us to cross?

Gjevilvatnet:) almost there!

All in all a beautiful trip that I would recommend to everyone! Ut.no has sat the level of difficulty to demanding. This rating is mostly based on the length of the stages, so do not get scared off it.

Happy and tired back at Gjevilvasshytta=)

Quebrada de Humahuaca

Quebrada de Humahuaca is a valley in Jujuy. It is really beautiful with colourful mountains and lots of culture. On the tour we visited Tilcara and the pre Inca ruins located there, the city Humahuacha and Jujuy and a pottery.

Tilcara

Lama or chama as they would say in Argentina.

In Argentina there were 4 types of Lamas. Some of them wild and other domesticated. Their wool, especially the alpacas, is very soft and is often used to make clothes. I didn't buy any, but I did try the meat several times, and it was really good:) In the region they even had empanadas with lama meat, yummy!

Pre Inca ruins

The ruins were always placed on a hill so that it was possible to keep a look-out for enemies. There were several of these ruins in the valley and they were all located like this. What was really fascinating was that even though they didn't have any thing fancy to build their houses, they were still standing there. With only dirt roofs and rock walls. They must have been really clever!

The whole in the ground was used for something, but what I can not remember:/

 There were always a lot of cacti around these ruins. We got two explanations for this; the first was that the seeds have to go through a digestive system. The second was that people planted them there. An other amazing thing in the region was how they used the wood of the cacti: lamps, roofs etc.

The people living here could not have been big...

Tropico capricorno
From Wikipedia: "The Tropic of Capricorn, or Southern tropic, is one of the five major circles of latitude that mark maps of the Earth. It lies 23deg26'22'' south of the Equator, and marks the most southerly latitude at which the sun can appear directly overhead at noon. This event occurs at the December solstice, when the southern hemisphere is tilted towards the sun to its maximum extent."
This event calls for a celebration in the city before it spreads throughout the region.

Pottery
There was a lot of pottery in the region. The products were really nice and well made and very cheap. Unfortunately it is very difficult to back pack with breakable things:/

Humahuaca

look at that statue!

There was a famous Glockenspiel here, but it was only twice a day so we missed it. Angela had wondered why the churches were closed some places we visited, here we got the answer. After a piece of jewelery was stolen from one of the statues, the churches are now only open when someone is around to supervise.

This grave is very different from the the average grave in Norway

And this doesn't remind me of a graveyard at all...  It has too many colours and looks too joyful

An other graveyard a long the road that was very special. The colours and shapes of the mountain in the background was also typical.

Jujuy
In Jujuy we just did some quick sightseeing around the plaza before we had to get on the buss again. The first thing we saw were the statues that had been moved from BA after the women of BA had found them inappropriate. Apparently because of the nudeness of the statues and especially the female ones. I must disagree, what do you think?

An other church made like a wedding cake, of course!

This was so sad to see. it was on a wall one block from the plaza. I hope it has been removed by now!